Michigan

The round carousel, shown left above the blue bridge, at the Grand Rapids Public Museum is built above the Grand River. This photo shows the flood waters on Saturday, April 20, as the river was still rising.
(Chris Clark | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids Public Museum has closed the carousel due to Grand River flood waters that are rushing inches below the popular downtown attraction.

The museum itself had hundreds of people visiting Sunday: It's a free admission day for downtown museums, and the riverfront areas are full of people who want to see and photograph the historic floods. The downtown river crest is expected tonight.

"We are closing our carousel as a precaution," said Kate Moore, museum director of marketing and public relations.

More than 100 people were waiting to get inside the museum at about 2 p.m. Traffic was jammed up on Monroe Avenue and the Pearl Street bridge as downtown visitors crammed into the city.

Mayor Heartwell urged people to park five blocks away and then walk to the river, to alleviate traffic problems.